Should I give my dog more food or fewer treats for a balanced diet?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Chloe is super cute! From your pictures she doesn't look overweight but I understand your concerns. I would recommend 315 calories total per day, which is about what you are giving her (~311). You can increase activity, cut back a bit on treats or change to a low calorie formula with in the brand you are currently feeding. I hope this helps!

If you are adding 1/2 cup of food to her diet then that counts towards her diet. Treats should only be less than 10% of the dogs diet b/c they are generally higher in calories. Also considering Chloe's age, I would recommend getting her on a senior diet if not done so already. I hope that this helps answer your question. Best of luck with your pet Chloe moving forward. Take care.

There is more to compiling a balanced diet than counting the total calories and generally treats should be just occasional offerings as they seldom contain a balance of nutrients. It would be advisable to contact a specialist nutritionist, especially if the supplements have been prescribed for a particular health condition. A good quality, balanced diet should not need to be excessively supplemented

Yes! You can certainly do that! Good question! For her weight she would need about 390 calories per day. If you cut her food to 1/2 cup that would equal approximately 220.5 calories. Then you would have about 170 calories left over for the veggies and pumpkin. Be sure to count in any other treats/food you give her. It doesn't take much to add on a lot of extra calories to a 17# dog! The other option is to switch her to a "light" or "senior" formula dog food that has less calories per cup. Then she can eat more :) I hope this helps! Best wishes to you and Chloe. She is beautiful!

No more than 10% of the dog's total daily calories should come from treats. Those two biscuits equal around 7% perfect of her daily calories, which is perfect! It's fine that 15% of her diet is the supplements, treats, and chews, keep up the good work!

It really depends on why you're given them. If Bella is on a well balanced quality dog food AND an ideal weight, she should be getting about 700 calories a day and no more than 10% (70 calories) should be coming from treats. So the cup amount would depend on the food (70 calories = 3/4 cup blueberries or pumpkin puree, or a little over a cup of cubed apples). On the other hand, if you're not giving her mostly dog food, I'd recommend using this website to build a balanced diet and order a supplement. https://secure.balanceit.com/recipegenerator_ver4/index.php?rotator=EZ

Before cutting down on her food, I would try limiting her treats. They are loaded with fat and have relatively few nutrients. From this photo, it is apparent that she has a "waistline." which is good. If when you run your hands down her sides you can't feel her ribs, she is too heavy. (If you can see her ribs, she is too thin.) Calories are not the only factors in a dog's weight gain or loss. Remember fat, too! Spayed females may be less active and more prone to weight gain, but it doesn't have to be this way. How about throwing a ball or Frisbee for her to chase? Finding another dog for her to play with? Perhaps a dog park (well-supervised!)? Good luck with trimming Chloe down a bit!